


Time Stands Still But I Cannot

by LilianaSnow



Series: Four Born of Lust and Pride [21]
Category: Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Set It Off (Band)
Genre: Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, M/M, Music, Romance, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-30 18:28:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15102461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilianaSnow/pseuds/LilianaSnow
Summary: Andy finally got his children to fall asleep, but his boyfriends won't. Cody had a nightmare; Maxx wants to calm him down. And Spencer just doesn't want to go to sleep yet.





	Time Stands Still But I Cannot

Andy sighed and walked back into his room. Patrick was sitting on the bed, Brendon was sitting in the corner with a guitar, and Pete and Joe were hand in hand.

 He smiled softly at the lot of them, yawning softly. "They're finally asleep."

"I think you need to relax now, Andy," Patrick whispered, standing up and putting a hand on Andy's waist and taking Andy's with the other. "You definitely deserve it."

Brendon started playing a slow-ish, upbeat rhythm. As Patrick pulled Andy closer, he could see Pete taking the lead with Joe.

Andy leaned his forehead on Patrick's, free hand resting on Patrick's shoulder. He had a small, happy smile as Patrick moved with him.

Joe was a little less relaxed with Pete, holding his head up still, but he was still obviously happy. Pete seemed to understand- Joe had been through a bit more than any of them cared to chew.

 As Brendon started to sing, a sad yet sweet slow song, Andy closed his eyes and let himself be spun around the small room. Joe was laughing softly at himself, having tripped over a toy Pongo had left when he went to lay by his babies.

Brendon felt his heart swelling as he watched the four men dance. He didn't like slow dancing. He preferred to play for the slow dancers, watch them have their fun, and go out dancing on his own to more upbeat tunes. They knew he never hooked up, and they also knew he'd take them whenever they wanted, but they also respected that slow songs were not his style of dance.

Andy was spun gently when the somg changed, and he opened his eyes passed off seamlessly to Pete, who easily took Patrick's place as a dancer. Andy loved Pete, Patrick, Joe, Brendon, the movement of the dance, the music. He felt more relaxed than he had in about a year.

Joe also found it easy to slide over to Patrick. The softness of Patrick's step was slightly slower than Pete's, exactly in time with the music. Joe wasn't having difficulty keeping up with Pete, but it was easier to him with Patrick instead. Easier on his OCD.

They danced four songs, switching out easily as they went. Patrick got all out of time with Pete, and Andy and Joe had to stop to laugh at them, and Brendon had to look at the bed not to inturrupt his music. Then, when he looked at them when the laughter died, Joe was nodding off in Andy's arms, standing close. Brendon smiled, then got Patrick to look at them.

Patrick smiled gently and led Pete toward Brendon during an instrumental period. "After this song, I'm gonna tuck them in."

"Okay. I'll take Pete to bed in my room. If you want to join?"

"Nah. I'll stay with Joe and Andy."

They finished the song, Patrick holding Pete and grinning at Andy.

Brendon took hold of Pete's hand and led him to his room. He hung up the acoustic, then pushed Pete into the bed and lay down next to him. Pete flipped over and snuggled in, wrapping his arms around Brendon. He returned the touch and they slowly fell asleep, looking into each other's eyes.

Then Patrick gently moved the covers back in Andy's bed, and led Andy safely to the side without hurting or disturbing Joe. He gently pulled Joe into the pillows, covered him with the blanket, and watched Andy.

"He's so peaceful..." Andy whispered, sliding next to him and laying a protective hand over Joe's chest.

"You've helped him recover, Andy." Patrick lay on the other side of Joe, holding Andy's hand and kissing Joe's forehead.

"No. We all did." Andy smiled and closed his eyes. "Thank you, for dancing tonight."

"You're welcome, Andy." Patrick watched him nod off, watching the two of them curl in on each other, and hugged them both. "I love you both."

* * *

 Cody woke with a start, crying silently and leaning against the headboard. Maxx pulled him in for a hug, gently stroking his hair.

 "There, there... It's okay... I've got you..." Maxx whispered, letting Cody cry into his chest. Cody sobbed and held him tight. He needed that base, he needed to hold and be held. Maxx made sure he had that.

A few minutes later, Cody had calmed down and was holding Maxx's waist. He looked so scared and so weary, and Maxx had no idea what to do. Thankfully, it was only silent for a few more minutes when he heard a guitar playing.

"Hey, someone's listening to music. Do you want to dance?" Maxx whispered. He waited a few heartbeats before Cody nodded his answer.

Maxx gently pulled him up and placed a hand on his waist. Cody lay his head on Maxx's shoulder, happy they were close in height. He put his hand on Maxx's other shoulder.

Cody didn't remember how to dance. He had only ever done this once. It was clear Maxx also couldn't remember, but that didn't stop Maxx from stumbling through a couple of awkward steps. He soon found a rhythm, and he led Cody in the dance gently. He could vaguely hear someone singing, and he strained to hear. It had been too long since he had heard music.

The song's lyrics totally fit their disappearances. The singer was singing about water falling, about the death of some poor bachelor, and it being a perfect happily ever after. Cody was also struggling to hear, but he gave up in favor of listening to Maxx breathing as he attempted to keep them moving.

The next song was some sort of religious song, about gospel and "fallen ones" and words being knives and scars being left. He remembered the words on Spencer's dove from the therapy session and assumed it was just one of Brendon's favorites. Cody could hear this one, and he was being slightly more bold now, lifting his head and smiling at Maxx.

"You're good at this, Maxxie."

"I'm okay, I guess..." Maxx smiled back and kissed him, moving his hand to the small of Cody's back.

If it weren't for the fact that Cody was usually slouching, it was obvious Maxx was a little shorter. It was certainly obvious to them, in their kiss. But neither minded- they were safe, free to move, not being watched. Being cared for by strangers who understood that they needed help and time.

When they broke off the kiss, Cody was ready to fall asleep, and Maxx gently tucked him into bed, curling around him. He vaguely heard one more song starting before he drifted off, making a mental note to ask Brendon who the artist was.

* * *

Spencer was bouncing up and down next to Dallon, unable to rest and unwilling to get up and pace it out. Dallon reached to grab his hand.

"Spence? You okay?"

"I can't f- I can't sleep." He shook Dallon's hand off and sat up. "I don't know why."

Dallon smiled gently. "Do you want to pace?"

"A little... But I have a hard time walking still. You know... Blood's still coming."

Dallon nodded. "I understand. I don't much like the feeling of things dripping either." He at up and pulled Spencer in for a hug. "I love you, Spence. I'm here."

Spencer nodded and wrapped his arms around Dallon awkwardly. Dallon gently brushed his hair back, humming to soothe the nerves he was feeling. Suddenly, his head shot away from the carrier, and he craned his neck as if searching for something.

"Dallon? What's wrong?" Spencer looked at him and slowly broke away.

"Is that... Is that music?" Dallon asked, holding up a finger.

Spencer listened. He could faintly hear the words from the dove Pongo had given him on therapy night being sung, and a guitar to back it up.

"Yes, I think so. Maybe Brendon's listening? He's always saying things like that. Maybe his favorite artist or something?"

Dallon shook his head. "It's not... Not Sinatra. I know Sinatra's music, he never sang like that. Sounds nothing like this guy."

They listened for a little while, and they heard the song end. By now, Spencer was itching to move. Dallon stood up and pulled Spencer to his feet.

He heard a faint voice singing again, the same guy. This one sounded different. He led Spencer in dancing to it, wondering. He couldn't hear the exact words, but he caught a few snippets.

"Sugarcane in the easy morning." "That fragile Capricorn." "Hey moon, please forget to fall down." "You are at the top of my lungs."

The song ended, and Spencer seemed to be much more relaxed, so Dallon was happy. But he was confused. He had never heard that singer, nor any words like the ones there. He assumed that he was simply behind after seven years locked away, but he felt like he should know the song.

The next song was again hard to hear, but Dallon knew that Spencer was loving whatever was playing. He was dancing slow with him and Dallon didn't even pay attention to the music anymore.

They danced long after the music stopped, and made up their own little beat for a little while. Sometimes, one of them would hum an older song, and they'd move in tune. Or, instead, they'd move with no tune. Dallon watched as Spencer slowly started to lose his footing, finally pulling away after finishing humming his tune.

"Okay, Dal. I think I'm ready to sleep. Thank you for dancing with me."

"You're welcome, Spencer." He gently tucked him in and lay with him, happily wrapping his arms around Spence when he decided to lay his head on his chest to sleep.

As he nodded off, snippets of that last song drifted through his head. He decided to ask Joe about it later on, still not totally trusting the men who had taken them in. He knew it would be a while before they got to that trusting stage.

"Don't you remember when I was a bird and you were a map?" "He took the days for pageant, became mad as rabbits." "Preached the devil in belfry."

"We must reinvent love."


End file.
